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The Villa d’Este lies on the western slope of the town of Tivoli
with southeastern views towards Rome, which lies twenty miles distant,
and northwestern views toward the Sabine Hills. His papal ambitions
thwarted, the Cardinal Ipplito d’Este (1509–17) undertook the renovation
of the existing palace and the construction of the gardens between
1560 and 1575 working with the architect and archeologist Pirro
Ligorio (c. 1500–83). The design of this Renaissance villa
was influenced by nearby Hadrian’s Villa, where Ligorio had been
involved in the excavation, as well as the terraces of the Temple
of Fortuna at Praeneste. The Villa d’Este is best known for its
fountains and lavish water displays fed by an aqueduct from the
distant Monte Sant’Angelo and a conduit diverting water from the
nearby River Aniene. During its heyday the villa was visited and
described by the writer Michel de Montaigne (1533–92). By
the eighteenth century the grounds and structures had fallen into
disrepair, making it a perfect subject for the likes of Hubert Robert
(1733–1808) and Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806) whose romanticized
images of the villa and its gardens helped to shape the enduring
image of the villa.